Building a Showman's Caravan Part 10

Well, here we are... close to completion of Canada's Last Showman's Caravan!

After 5 months of toil and hard work, we are finally making the last lap to victory.

It is amazing how much the Caravan has changed since its inception. I always had a clear idea in my head as to how the Caravan would look... but as we played with the build and toyed with the concept it became more and more of a beautiful and strange contraption. Old ideas were thrown out the window as form and function began to dictate what should go where. 

As you know, because you have been following the progress from day one... this Showman's Caravan was going to be different. And as we kept adding more and more detail to the Caravan, I found many different ways to make it whimsical, strange and interesting. Because of my background in Sideshow and Freakshow's, I have brought to the table some rather eccentric deviations to the Caravan concept.

These next pix are a bit of a spoiler for many of you before it is completed, because you are seeing the Caravan almost finished... but NOT up on the carriage wheels yet.

The last step happens tomorrow.... and then the Showman's Caravan will be completed, except for some minor cosmetic details, once it is moved outside.

And so, here it is... the bulk of the Caravan done.... ENJOY!

The doors to the Miracle Elixer Distillery

With the doors completed, I wanted to make the inside of the doors functional... so Ward and I added some shelves and a couple of extra details. I also wanted some old Medical styled charts that I could elude to during the show... so, I put them into the doors.

A peek at the finished Miracle Elixer Distillery

The back porch was alot of fun to work on, because there was so much detail that could be added to make the porch a nice little nook to hang out on when the show was not going on.

The back Porch door

The railings were to be as ornate and colorful as any Circus wagon from the past.
But I still wanted the colors to be deep and rich in tone. And the overall look to be well used and weathered.

Porch railings painted and aged

The back door had to look like it had seen a century of use... so, we used old barn wood and searched for antique iron door hinges and it was fortuitous that Ward had an old iron door handle from his grandfathers house. I wanted the lock on the door to be large and old... so, I found on Ebay, a lock that was over 100 years old in perfect working condition.

close up of door handle and lock

The front riding area had to look as good as the back, so we designed a nice little window with shutters and added riding lanterns to the sidewalls. Both the front and back have tin ceilings. But the best part of the front is the Screaming Banshee Skull that Ward and I created. (the skull has been detailed even more since this photo was taken)

upper portion of front drivers area

And finally, a pic of me and Ward standing in front of the 'almost' finished Showman's Caravan. 

Me and Ward after a long day and night of work.

It is almost done... the final lap is coming around the corner and we are excited to unveil the Last Showman's Caravan in Canada very soon! Stay tuned!!!

The FINAL CHAPTER is coming NEXT Blog!